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JAVELIN Project (Matt-256)
The JAVELIN Project was an advanced supersoldier development program running parallel with the SPARTAN-II Program behind the creation of two successive classes of supersoldiers. The project was conceived by DRACULA, an ex-ORION operative and a high-ranking member of the Office of Naval Intelligence. While the project's goals were almost identical to the SPARTAN-II Program – to produce highly capable human supersoldiers in order to quell the growing insurrection in the outer colonies – the means to achieve those goals were different in some regards in-between the separate programs, with JAVELIN's primary focus lying in biological augmentations to amplify human capabilities at the expense of cybernetic and mechanical enhancements embraced by Dr. Catherine Halsey for the SPARTAN-IIs. The project had connections with a wide array of secret ONI projects, the most notable being KATANA, HAYABUSA, GUNGNIR, MARISKA and ELERI. In addition, due to the project head's – DRACULA – extensive involvement with other supersoldier projects, some JAVELIN operatives ended up in other Spartan-grade teams, as in the case of Gauntlet Team. Introduction The JAVELIN Project was conceived around the same time as the SPARTAN-II Program, and the two programs were indeed very similar, with roughly the same goals; to stop the insurrection in its infancy before humanity tore itself apart in endless civil war. However, the means by which the separate projects hoped to achieve these goals were different. The SPARTAN-II Program placed heavy emphasis on indoctrination, age requirements and technological augmentation, though biological enhancement and physical training was nonetheless important. JAVELIN, on the other hand, had a looser age restriction criteria and mainly focused on the physical training regime, biological augmentations and military-oriented studies, at the expense of some more technological aspects, such as armor systems, weapons and improved neural interfaces – in which the project chose to use cheaper alternatives. In the end, both projects succeeded in their efforts, although the SPARTAN-IIs ended up slightly more effective than the JAVELINs on average – one of the many factors which made the Spartans more desirable by Section Two as a morale boost than the JAVELINs. By contrast, the JAVELINs garnered approval with the UNSC brass for being relatively cheap, enough so as to allow for a second generation – which indirectly was the cause for the second class of the SPARTAN-II Program to be postponed. History Conception DRACULA conceived project JAVELIN around the same time as Halsey engineered the SPARTAN-II Program (then known as 'ORION Generation-II'), in 2511. However, the project wasn't approved until a month after Halsey's project had already received the green-light. Due to the limited funding available for the two projects, a great deal of resources from the SPARTAN-II Program was relocated to JAVELIN. Thus, while Halsey had initially been given funding for 300 candidates, the funding reallocation forced her to split this number in half, to 150. Meanwhile, JAVELIN was permitted to seek out an equal amount of candidates. To counter the rarity of suitable candidates, DRACULA secretly made use of flash-cloning – taking DNA samples of already existent people with suitable genetic parameters and then creating clones of these individuals, but contrary to the normally used cloning process the accelerated growth of the cloned embryos were stopped, thus countering metabolic side effects. With the aid of new therapy procedures, all defects that could've affected the new clones were eliminated, thus completing the creation of several dozen candidates for the JAVELIN Project. With one exception, all of these cloned subjects were then born and raised in ONI-controlled environments, allowing for indoctrination to take place during their childhood. This would later allow DRACULA to cut nearly all expenses for indoctrination efforts during the project, as most of the candidates were already indoctrinated by then. For the project, DRACULA also studied biological augmentations, with the aim of perfecting them for his brainchild. Most of this research was based on the procedures which both he and Halsey would make use of, but DRACULA also took interest in other enhancements which were either too risky by the time or banned. Also unlike Halsey, he didn't hesitate to go farther than testing on Bonobo chimpanzees; eventually, he started testing the procedures on humans – mostly insurrectionist prisoners or criminals, similarly to Project CHISEL many years later. The procedures were devastating to these subjects, but gave results vital to DRACULA's efforts to develop countermeasures for the various enhancements' side effects. First Generation After years of build-up work, the first generation of JAVELIN finally started officially in 2517. Though 150 candidates were targeted as previously instructed, funding had been cut once more, allowing for only 75 candidates (which was also the case with the SPARTAN-II Program). To further cut expenses, DRACULA decided to only accept 70 candidates. Of these 70, roughly two thirds (or 48) of the candidates consisted of the unaccelerated clones created by DRACULA years back, while the other twenty-two were abducted candidates – either those that Halsey and other concurrent projects had not abducted (such as Caleb-095) or children of people living off the surveillance grid (which Halsey had either been unwilling to do or had simply overlooked). All the seventy candidates were then taken to a top secret facility on the planet of Coral, not too far from an archeological dig site. From then on, the candidates followed a strict training regime under Sergeant Pete Stacker – stricter and more effective than that of the SPARTAN-IIs. With the clone candidates the training was especially effective, as there was no need to spend time on indoctrination – and thus could instead be spent on exercising or studies. To a degree, this was also the case of some of the 'off-the-grid' candidates, who were fairly welcoming of the chance to become supersoldiers instead of the lives of poverty and crime they would otherwise have led. The candidates who did need indoctrination were so few that the efforts could be adjusted for each and every candidate, getting it over with as soon as possible to let them catch to the others. In 2525, the JAVELINs completed their training and went through the augmentation procedures. Despite DRACULA's best efforts, the results of the process were devastating; only 29 candidates survived unscathed. Meanwhile, 14 candidates were affected by the enhancements too badly to allow for continued service, and the remaining 27 were outright killed. The dead 'washouts' were subsequently placed in cryostasis, with the hope of resuscitating some of them at a later date. The mutilated failures were assigned desk jobs within ONI while research was made into ways to cure them. After that, the remaining candidates were geared up in their new Katana Powered Assault Armors (patched and upgraded with new technology from Project ELERI) and then fielded in their pre-established seven-man squads – except for one candidate, who was assigned to Sienna Team instead. While fighting with distinction against both insurrectionists and the new Covenant threat, the JAVELINs fell just short of catching up to the SPARTAN-IIs. SIENNA Alongside the JAVELIN candidates but in a separate facility and with a different drill instructor – Codename: BLIGHTBLOOD, another ex-ORION – an additional eight children were also trained, going by the codename of 'SIENNA'. While officially they were also JAVELIN candidates – chosen for a special occupation as part of an elite team with additional specialist training – they were actually candidates secretly abducted by DRACULA from the SPARTAN-II Program itself in 2519. Presumably, DRACULA did this in order to study SPARTAN-IIs and their differences from the JAVELINs up close. Out of fear that her project would be shut down if it was revealed to be compromised by external intrusions, Halsey covered up the disappearances by quietly abducting eight additional candidates. Although Halsey tried to find out what happened to her missing candidates, she never succeeded in that endeavor. Second Generation While training the first generation, DRACULA was already making plans for a second generation of JAVELINs, including the creation of a new wave of clone candidates. By the time of the first class' "graduation", he had already put together everything for the second generation – allowing him to request the formation of a new class of JAVELINs a month before Halsey could request her own second class of Spartans. Due to the first contact at Harvest, the request was passed and started immediately. By this time, DRACULA had managed to locate 187 candidates (of which more than half were clones), but only received funding for 105. The selected candidates were extracted to the same facility as the first generation had used on Coral, and were trained there for the next seven years in roughly the same way as their predecessors had, though various improvements had been made to most aspects of the project, and focus had been placed on combating the Covenant rather than the insurrection. In early 2533, the candidates underwent the augmentation procedures. Thanks to improvements and countermeasures discovered by research from Project CHISEL, the survivability was increased, with 66 making it through without crippling damage. Meanwhile, 28 candidates died from the process and 11 were crippled. A short while later, the candidates received their equipment and were then dispatched to the front. DRACULA subsequently tried to push for a third generation of the project, but was denied due to the conception of the SPARTAN-III Program. Instead, he was placed in charge of the HEADHUNTER Project on behalf of Project INDIGO-II, where he continued to use his knowledge of supersoldier development, also leading to his abandonment of JAVELIN. BRAVADO Personnel First Generation *Shun-003 – the overall leader of the first generation JAVELINs and commanding officer of Able Squad. SIENNA *Mattias-256 *Caleb-095 *Valeria-107 Second Generation *Aleshanee-202 – the overall commander of JAVELIN's second generation and leader of Asahi Squad. *Ishmael-169 – considered the most lethal candidate of the second generation and a member of Sakura Squad. *Kedar-198 - skilled with heavy weapons and long-range rifles, Kedar's violent nature made for one of Yamato Squad's trademarks. *Ryder-326 - BRAVADO Augmentations Equipment KATANA Armor The Katana Powered Assault Armor was the product of Project KATANA by the think-tank RKD, with consultation support from the Marathon Research Corporation. The armor had an advanced modular system which increased the wearer's performance through agility, reaction time and strength enhancements. Despite these technological leaps, it also had difficulties in preventing fusion pack radiation leakage and sudden shutdown, and was incapable of hosting artificial intelligence constructs. The project was abandoned in 2524 due to insufficient funding, but the prototypes were harvested and incorporated into Project ELERI, refitted and patched up for usage by the JAVELINs. Despite the still-existent faults of the armor, it proved effective with the first generation JAVELINs. It didn't catch up to the MJOLNIR armor but nonetheless provided decent protection, which proved essential in the fight against the Covenant. The introduction of the Hayabusa armor rendered the Katana obsolete and it was gradually phased out of the JAVELINs' ranks. HAYABUSA Armor Just as JAVELIN was similar in purpose and goal to SPARTAN-II, Project HAYABUSA ran parallel with Project MJOLNIR and also ended up producing a highly advanced powered armor system for supersoldiers. The Hayabusa Armor was developed by RKD – the creators of the Katana suits – in 2536 as a response to the self-contained power armor problem. Through the use of advanced materials, the suits had their weighty bulk reduced by a third, and also focused on providing a defensive and ultraviolet protection visor, and further emphasis on heavy lifting and extra-vehicular activity than the MJOLNIR. Its aesthetic design (based on samurai and ninja armor) had the purpose of instilling fear in enemies, and also compensated for the armor's lack of defensive strength by angling the pieces to reduce penetration from ballistics, at the same time providing a sleek and aerodynamic figure. In the same year as it was developed and approved by the UNSC Ordnance Committee, the suits were introduced to the JAVELINs, both first and second generation. As a result, the previous Katana armors were gradually scrapped as the JAVELINs were fitted with the Hayabusa instead. Although not amplifying speed or dexterity as well as the MJOLNIR, it was a major improvement over the Katana, and thus quickly became popular with the JAVELINs, helped by its design – which many of them considered to be much more impressive than the Katana's – and improved EVA capability. In 2550, the armor was upgraded with shield modules from Project VERONA, improving it substantially (though it would later be outmatched by the Mark V MJOLNIR). SPI Armor .]] The Semi-Powered Infiltration (or SPI) Armor, while a vast improvement of the ODST Ballistic Body Armor, was also inferior to the MJOLNIR and Hayabusa systems. Its saving grace was its camouflage capability and relatively low price. It's described as "part chameleon, part tactical body armor and part legionnaire mail". While it was primarily used by the SPARTAN-III commandos, some of the suits found their way into other supersoldier units that needed to cut expenses. The armor was introduced to the JAVELINs alongside the Hayabusa. In order to cut expenses for the project, some of the JAVELIN squads were fitted with the SPI instead of the Hayabusa, but to make sure it had as little impact as possible on their efficicency, the squads that received the SPI were the project's light-armored reconnaissance or long-range combat units, which benefitted from the stealth capabilities and suffered the least from the decreased protection. ELERI/GUNGNIR Armor The ELERI/GUNGNIR Armor was a joint development by staff from both Project GUNGNIR and ELERI. The result was a sturdy and protective but somewhat bulky armor system, which featured special software to allow for smart-linking with specialized MARISKA and GUNGNIR weaponry, including the improved M99(M) Special Application Scoped Rifle "Stanchion" and the Weapon/Anti-Vehicle M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle "Spartan Laser". The armor finished development in 2541 and was approved for small-scale production shortly after. Upon completion, it was adopted by Dog and Heiwa squads, the main JAVELIN heavy ordnance specialists, for which it proved more effective than the Hayabusa and SPI systems. Along with the Hayabusa suits, the ELERI/GUNGNIR armors were upgraded with advanced shield modules from Project VERONA, making it even more protective. MJOLNIR Armor Widely considered the most revolutionizing (and expensive) powered armor system created by the UNSC, the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor was the most renowned piece of equipment used by Spartans, becoming the thing most often associated with those supersoldiers. The first true MJOLNIR product, the Mark IV, was introduced in 2525. Shortly after, the SPARTAN-IIs were equipped with the suits and would use them (or its successive variants) until 2552, during which they were fitted with the Mark V version, which had been released nearly a year prior. In September the same year, the Mark VI was commissioned, worn by the Master Chief John-117 during the defense of earth. While the JAVELINs were never equipped with MJOLNIR suits for budget reasons, Sienna Team received variants of the armor to aid them in their specialized missions. Later, when the existence of the SPARTAN-IIs was disclosed to the public to boost morale, Sienna's use of the iconic armor also served to fuel the illusion DRACULA maintained that they were a normal SPARTAN-II team and not part of an illegally conceived unit of his own creation. Behind the scenes *Project KATANA was made by Subtank, whom the author (and arguably the rest of the wiki) likes. *The goal of the article was to create an article with as many (plausible) tie-ins with canon as possible, thus the many references to canon articles and events. Related Pages Internal *'Codename: DRACULA' *'Sienna Team' *'Mattias-256' *'SPARTAN Program (Matt-256)' *'Project KATANA' *'Gauntlet Team' External *[[w:c:halo:Project JAVELIN|'Project JAVELIN' on Halopedia]] *[[w:c:halo:SPARTAN-II Program|'SPARTAN-II Program' on Halopedia]] *[[w:c:halo:Hayabusa Powered Assault Armor|'Hayabusa Powered Assault Armor' on Halopedia]] *[[w:c:halo:SPARTAN-II augmentation procedures|'SPARTAN-II Augmentation Procedures' on Halopedia]] *[[w:c:halo:Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|'Project CHRYSANTHEMUM' on Halopedia]] *[[wikipedia:Supersoldier|'Supersoldier' on Wikipedia]] *[[wikipedia:Javelin|'Javelin' on Wikipedia]] Category:Matt-256/UNSC Units